Hinge lug for journal boxes



April 13, 1954 E. H. BLATTNER 2,675,278

HINGE LUG FOR JOURNAL BOXES Filed Jan. 2, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor: Emil H. Blattner his A'Horney April 1954 E. H. BLATTNER v 2,675,278

HINGE LUG F OR JQURNAL BOXES STATION 50 OPENING OF LID, DEGREES Inventor: Emil H. Blattner his Attorney Patented Apr. 13, 1954 UNITED STATES Rtfiifihi'l GFFICE 2,675,278 HINGE LUG FOR JOURNAL BOXES Application January 2, 1951, Serial No. 204,009

(Cl. 3t8-47) 3 Claims. 1

This invention pertains to a hinge lug for use with arailway journal cox.

A primary object of this invention is the. provision of an improved journal box hinge lug pable or" having a journal box lid pivotally as sociated therewith such lid being capable of moving freely to a fully opened position.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an improved journal box hinge lug hav ing a top surface so arranged and constructed that a journal box lid pivotally attached to the lug will be capable of moving uninterrupted and freely to an open position.

The above and many other broad objects of the invention herein contained as well as many detailed objects and features will become apparent to those skilled. in the art from the succeeding description and accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view taken through a top of a journal box embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the improved hinge lug as considered along the lines 2--2 of Figure 1 looking in the direction of the arrows, some accessory parts. being shown in section.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the lines of Figure 2 looking in. the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a developed curve line illustrating a progressive.relationship between a bearing surface of the hinge lug, an axis of a moving lid roller and an axis of an aperture in the hinge lug.

As a preface hereto it is to be noted that a hinge lug for a railway journal box, which according to present day standards meets the requirements or with the approval of the .Associa-.

tion of American Railways, will-allow a free sini gle swingingmctionof ajournalbox lid to. open to/ approximately seventyfour to. ninety degrees with respect to a lid seating face of the journal box. It is highly desired, but believed to be never heretofore attained, to have the journal boxlid open in one, free, uninterrupted, swinging motion to a location where included angle between opposing faces of the lid and journal box will greatly exceed the heretofore required degree. The reason for this desire is prompted by the majority of operators who. are charged with the duty oi periodically inspecting. the interior of the journal box, only opening the journal. box

1 lid with but. a singlemotionwhich. willnot. allow the lid to reach the required ninety degrees of 2 opening. Since this partial opening of the lid actually obstructs a full, clear and complete viewing of a journal box interior, it results in an incomplete inspection of the interior of the journal box and such incomplete inspection is, at times, tantamount to no inspection.

In addition to being capable of opening freely with one free swinging motion, the journal box lid should be capable of closing also with a single free swinging motion. This requirement, fulfilled by the structure of the present invention, is not to be accomplished with present day journal box hinge lugs as the contour thereof necessitates sharp increase in the deflection of the lid actuating spring to pass the lid over the sharp apex of the present day hinge lug. This diificult closing has resulted in a specification calling for a relatively low pressure of the lid on the seating face of the journal box when the lid is in closed position since the rather sharp increase in pressure above mentioned builds up a force which requires considerable effort on the part of the operator to close the lid. Further, it is usual to make inspection of journal boxes on cars in. a train at numerous points en route and it is essential that this work be performed as rapidly as possible so as to expedite train movement. With hard closing lids as presently in use due to the particular contour of the hinge lug, an inspector cannot perform this work expeditiously and as a result thereof some journal boxes. will not be inspected with. possible resulting hot boxes or other troubles due to faulty luhrication of the journal. Thus, as will be hereinafter brought out, a hinge lug of the contour of the present invention, with easy, single motion, opening and closing movements of the journal lid, will definitely allow increasing the final closing pressure of the journal box lid against the lid. seating face of the journal box. and will also definitely expedite and make relatively easy the inspection of. the journal box conditions at various inspection. points.

With the above as a background, reference is now made to a detailed consideration of an exemplified form of the invention illustrated by various figures or the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters designate like parts. The numeral l is employed to inclicat-e, in a somewhat general manner, a pertinent part of a journal box for use in a railway vehicle.

is made up. in part by. a roof or top wall 2 and "sidewalls 3 only one of which is shown and these walls have a lid seating face 4 defining an access opening 5 of the journal box. Upstanding substantially vertically from the roof adjacent to a front edge thereof is a hinge lug 6 which is disposed centrally of the journal box considered in a transverse direction. The hinge lug is formed in part by transversely spaced, hinge ears I which have a rounded outer surface 8 so designed and disposed that a journal box lid 9 may freely pivot about the hinge lug. The hinge ears are provided with reentrant flanges 1a which materially strengthen the hinge lug against stresses to which it will be subjected in service.

Extending between and forming an integral part of the hinge ears is a bearing block it, with this block. also being joined integrally to the roof by a neck. portion ii. The hinge lug is provided with an aperture it which is preferably lined with a bushing i3 and a pin or pintel i4 extends entirely through the lined aperture to pivotally connect the journal box lid to the journal box.

'A spring pressed roller !5 is employed in the 'instant case to characterize a resiliently urged means incorporated in the journal box lid as a :part thereof to hold the lid in either closed or open position. This illustrated roller is not to be considered as a limitation of this invention since a flat shoe, well known in the art, may also be used with the present invention. Also merely for the purpose of illustration, the lid in Figure 1 is shown pivoted to fully open position with a journal box contacting face angle of approximately one hundred and ten degrees between normally contacting faces 56 and 4.

thereof at an So as to extend the service life of the journal box, the bearing block is provided with a clip I l course, be clearly understood that the bearing block may be provided with the illustrated clip or cast as one integral mass to include the limits of the clip; however, because of the replaceable feature of the clip it is preferred to use it, and

also the clip may be manufactured to closer tolerances than would be the case of forming the bearing block as an entirely cast component.

By considering the clip as an integral part of the hinge lug the latter has a forwardly exposed, .vertically disposed, front, plane surface or face iii which extends transversely of the journal box for substantially the full length of the bearing block. This front face is in a plane substantially parallel to but, however, spaced from a vertical plane passing through an axis or center I20, of

the aperture with this latter plane indicated by a diagrammatic line ZZ in Figure 3 and which may sometimes be referred to as a vertical axis of the hinge lug. In actual practice the front face is desirably spaced from the vertical axis of the hinge lug by a distance approximating elevensixteenths of an inch. This latter dimension is I rather important in that it is taken into consideration when calculating the holding pressure required to maintain the lid in closed position.

The spring pressed roller is indicated by diagrammatic lines in Figure 3 and identified by the character 15a for a desired location of this roller vwhen the lid is in closed position. It will be 1 noted that the roller is at this location near the vhill effect of the top face.

top of the front plane face of the bearing block. Blending in with the front face is a top or upper bearing surface or face 2&1 of the bearing block with the actual juncture between the front and top faces formed by an apex of relatively high curvature or small, convex, cylindrical surface 2l. In actual practice this small convex surface is formed by a radius approximating three-sixteenths of an inch. It will be noted that since this small convex surface when traversed by the roller will carry the roller a greater distance away from the axis of the aperture, the apex or small convex cylindrical surface will actually function as a barrier preventing an accidental or unwarranted displacement of the roller when the lid is in closed position. fhis feature is brought out more clearly by referring particularly to Figure 4 where station A represents the location of the roller when the lid is in closed position-see also Figure 3-and station E represents the location of the roller when the lid is being pivoted to open position with the roller at a point farthest removed from the axis of the aperture, just as the roller is about to pass over the hump of the apex. 7

From the apex the top face continues rearwardly and downwardly as a relatively large, cylindrical, convex surface 22 and this surface is preferably formed as an area of rotation about a center line 23. By referring particularly to Figure 3 it will be noted that the center line 23 line from. station E to station C represents the effective downhill bearing area for the roller as it passes over the hump of the apex and traverses the large cylindrical surface. As will be noted, the top surface thus far considered is such that once the roller passes over the apex in an opening action of the lid, the natural tendency is for the roller to move freely in a single sweeping action because of the downhill effect caused by the particular dispostion of the large convex surface.

Forming a continuation of the large convex surface is a plane terminal surface 24 directed at an incline in a downward and rearward direction to be tangential with the large convex surface. Preferably, this terminal surface of the top face is arranged normal to a plane which extends through the aperture axis and the point or line of contact of the terminal surface with the roller l5a at its maximum or full open position, and, as will be noted, a portion of this terminal surface permits the top face to approach closer to the aperture axis to continue the down- This is more clearly brought out by the developed curve of Figure 4 where it will be observed that from station C to station D the downhill effect is continued. Accordingly, therefore, in one, full, easy, undisturbed sweep, the roller, due only to the particu lar configuration of the top face, once it traverses the apex may move from station B to station D and at this latter station come to rest to effect a complete opening movement of the lid through an arc approximating one hundred and ten degrees.

During the closing movement of the lid the roller will, in a single operation, be forced in what might be considered as an easy gradual up-hill sweep of the top face until the roller passes over the apex at which time the lid, through the action of the spring pressing the roller against the bearing block, will be snapped shut.

It is of particular interest to note in conclusion that it is only because of the particular disposition arrangement or relationship of the three surfaces formin the upper bearing surface or face 20 that a journal box lid is definitely capable of opening and closing in a single free swinging motion to the positions heretofore set forth.

From the above it will be noted that various changes and alterations may be made to the illustrated and described construction without departing from the spirit of this invention or scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a railway journal box, an apertured hinge lug comprising spaced hinge ears upstanding from said journal box adjacent a front edge thereof, a bearing block extending between said hinge cars, a front vertically disposed plane surface carried by said bearing block, a top face on said bearing block, said top face merging with said front surface in a small convex surface forming an apex of said bearing block, a cylindrical surface formingan intermediate part of said top face and having as a center a line located below an axis of said aperture and between parallel planes passing along said front surface and aperture axis, and said top face terminating in a plane surface tangential to said cylindrical surface, said top face beyond said apex progressively approaching said aperture axis and reaching its minimum spacing therefrom within said plane surface.

2. In a railway journal box having a lid and associated resiliently urged means, an apertured hinge lug for mounting said lid and associated means on said railway journal box, said hinge lug comprising spaced hinge ears upstanding from said journal box adjacent a front edge thereof, a bearing block extending between said hinge cars, a front vertically disposed plane surface carried by said bearing block and arranged to contact said resiliently urged means for holding said lid in closed position, a top face on said bearing block, said top face merging with said front surface in a small convex surface forming an apex of said bearing block, a cylindrical surface forming an intermediate part of said top face and having as a center a line located below an axis of said aperture and between parallel planes passing along said front surface and aperture axis, and said top face terminating in a plane surface tangential to said cylindrical surface and arranged to contact said resiliently urged means for holding said lid in open position; said last named plane surface being substantially normal to a plane passing through said aperture axis and a point of contact of said last named surface with said resiliently urged means.

3. In a railway journal box, an apertured hinge lug comprising spaced hinge ears upstanding from said journal box adjacent the front edge thereof, a bearing block extending between said hinge cars, a wear clip replaceably secured to said bearing block, a vertically disposed plane front face on said clip, a top face on said clip and mergin with said front face in a small convex surface forming an apex of said clip, a cylindrical surface forming an intermediate portion of said top face and having as a center a line located below an axis of said aperture and between parallel planes passing along said front surface and aperture axis, and said top face terminating in a plane surface tangential to said cylindrical surface, said top face beyond said apex progressive- 1y approaching said aperture axis and reaching its minimum spacing therefrom within said plane surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 423,795 Morris Mar. 18, 1890 566,047 Schroyer Aug. 18, 1896 588,960 Davis .Aug. 31, 1897 815,230 Symington Mar. 13, 1906 908,403 Gero Dec. 29, 1908 1,505,405 Mohun Aug. 19, 1924 2,060,602 Woodman Nov. 10, 1936 2,292,912 Townsend Aug. 11, 1942 

